Double-exclusive liquid repellency (double-ELR): an enabling technology for rare phenotype analysis

Area of Science:

• Surface Science and Engineering
• Biotechnology
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Extreme wettability phenomena are crucial for advanced fluidic applications.
• Non-textured substrates with selective liquid repellency offer unique advantages over structured surfaces.
• Existing cell culture assays face challenges like cell loss and limited microenvironment control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and explore double-exclusive liquid repellency (double-ELR) on non-textured substrates.
• To demonstrate the application of double-ELR in mitigating cell loss in assays.
• To showcase the potential of double-ELR for constructing advanced in vitro microenvironments.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing double-exclusive liquid repellency (double-ELR) on non-textured substrates.
• Implementing underoil sweep patterning for high-throughput liquid distribution.
• Developing modular architectures for in vitro cell culture.

Main Results:

• Achieved complete partitioning of immiscible liquids (e.g., water and oil) with a contact angle of 180°.
• Significantly mitigated common cell loss failure modes in assays.
• Demonstrated robust, high-throughput distribution of sub-microliter aqueous volumes and cells.
• Constructed modular, physiologically relevant microenvironments including multi-phenotype, 3D layered, and spheroid cultures.

Conclusions:

• Double-ELR provides a powerful platform for precise liquid control on non-textured surfaces.
• This technology significantly enhances cell culture assays by reducing cell loss and enabling complex microenvironments.
• Double-ELR facilitates the culture and analysis of limited cellular samples, paving the way for high-content screening.